1.3.4-Notquitelostnotquitefound
Vol. 1, Book 2, Ch. 4: Tholomyes est si joyeux qu’il chante une chanson espagnole Tiny translation things again: 1) “Fantine, enfermée dans sa vague résistance rêveuse et farouche…” Another point for the Enjolras comparisons? ^^ 2) I don’t even know what to do with Tholomyes’s little Spanish song. Soy de Badajoz. ''Amor me llama. ''Toda mi alma ''Es en mi ojos ''Porque enseñas ''A tus piernas. -I think Hugo wrote it himself? At least, I can’t find any other source for it, and Mario Vargas Llosa puts it in the context of Hugo learning Spanish as a kid. http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i8358.html -Vargas Llosa also puts [''sic] after quoting it, which seems to confirm my instinct that it’s bad!Spanish to some degree. My Spanish is even sketchier than my French these days (sigh), so I can’t point to anything specific (except “mi ojos,” unless that’s a thing you can say?). -TRANSLATIONS. There seems to be a clean one (that keeps the rhyme scheme) and a (mildly) dirty one (which is more literal). Wilbour, FMA, and Wraxall leave it untranslated. Hapgood: “Badajoz is my home / And Love is my name / To my eyes in flame / All my soul doth come / For instruction meet / I receive at thy feet” William Walton (not the composer! also, I don’t think I knew this translation existed until just now): “I am from Badajoz / Love calls me / All my soul / Is in my eyes / Because thou show’st me / Thy legs” Considering it’s Hugo, I think “because you show me your legs” is probably closer to what he meant… Commentary Pilferingapples Hey, tiny translation things are great! Thanks! Theonlycheeseleft Wow, yes, this translation….actually makes a lot more sense? First because, well, Hugo. And secondly because I was trying really hard to make sense of whatever jibberish the Hapgood translation seemed to be saying, and I just could not come up with anything that suited any of my readings (and being the English major that I was, I just made it fit my reading, because ~ textual support~ means I tried and therefore no one should criticize me!) But wow, yes, this actually does fit my interpretation of Tholomyes’s character quite a lot, and gives Fantine’s melancholy in this scene a bit more context. Obviously, the innuendo in Tholomyes’s song would’ve made her uncomfortable. This also shines a bit more light on Favourite’s comment immediately following Fantine’s refusal to swing, about “putting on airs.” Perhaps she’s commenting on the fact that Fantine acts virginal and “pure” (offended by Tholomyes’s song, wearing a high-collared dress, etc.) when it’s clear that she has a sexual relationship with Tholomyes? Favourite might be offended that Fantine sees herself above the other girls, which calls into question the differences between “virginal” and “chaste” and that’s opening of a whole ‘nother can of worms regarding Hugo and female sexuality, but that’s not really my area of expertise. Basically, there’s a whole minefield of problematic here. But I’m starting to connect the dots, and getting a better reading on the characters? Thanks for pointing this out!